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Diversity gained, diversity lost: long-term changes in woody plants in Central Park, New York City and Fairmount Park, Philadelphia

2010; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 30; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14601170903040819

1943-2186

Robert E. Loeb,

Botany and Plant Ecology Studies

Abstract Acknowledgments The information provided by Thomas Witmer and Robert Armstrong of the Fairmont Park Commission is appreciated. Partial funding in support of travel for research was provided as part of a sabbatical leave from the Pennsylvania State University Dubois Campus. The Pennsylvania State University DuBois, Pennsylvania Notes 1. Andrew Jackson Downing, 'A talk about public parks and gardens', Horticulturalist, iii/10, 1848, pp. 153–158. 2. Elizabeth Milroy, 'A crowning feature: the centennial exhibition and Philadelphia's horticultural hall', Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, xxvi/2, 2006, pp. 132–165; Sara Cedar Miller, Central Park, An American Masterpiece (New York: H. N. Abrams, 2003). The creation of Fairmount Park 'was begun with the idea of making it a rival of the Central Park, New York': Anonymous, 'Fairmount Park, Philadelphia', The Gardener's Monthly, ix/7, 1867, p. 217. 3. Egbert L. Viele, First Annual Report on the Improvement of the Central Park, New York January 19, 1857 (Washington, DC: McGrath Publishing Company, reprinted 1972), pp. 25–35; Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and Theodora Kimball (eds), Frederick Law Olmsted Landscape Architect 1822–1903 (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1928), p. 333. 4. Theo B. White, Fairmount, Philadelphia's Park: A History (Philadelphia: Art Alliance Press, 1975), p. 47. 5. T. L. C., 'Jottings under the catalpa', New York Evangelist, xxxiv/155, 1863, p. 33; Anonymous, 'The Philadelphia Park', Saturday Evening Post, xxxi/65, 1863, p. 2. 6. James Clark Sidney and Andrew Adams, Description of Plan for the Improvement of Fairmount Park (Philadelphia: Merrihew & Thompson, Printers, 1859), 24 pp. Michael J. Lewis, 'The first design for Fairmount Park', The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, cxxx/3, 2006, pp. 283–298. The early landscaping and plantings in East Fairmount met the approval of the Philadelphia horticultural community: Anonymous, 'Fairmount Park, Philadelphia', The Gardener's Monthly, ii/9, 1860, p. 278. However, the post-Civil War squandering of funds was soundly criticized: Anonymous, 'Fairmount Park, Philadelphia', The Gardener's Monthly, ix/7, 1867, p. 217. 7. Theo B. White, Fairmount, Philadelphia's Park: A History (Philadelphia: Art Alliance Press, 1975), p. 43. 8. Anonymous, 'The centennial conservatory', The Gardener's Monthly, xvi/7, 1874, p. 191. White, Fairmount, Philadelphia's Park, pp. 47 and 64; William M. Klein, Gardens of Philadelphia & the Delaware Valley (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1995), pp. 227–232. 9. Frank A. Waugh 'A.J. Downing, pioneer landscape architect: an address before the New York convention of the American association of park superintendents', Park and Cemetery and Landscape Gardening, xxiv/9, 1914, pp. 296–297. 10. Charles Sprague Sargent, 'Park-making', Garden and Forest, x/512, 1897, p. 489. 11. Frederick Law Olmsted, 'Letter to R. P. Hammond Jr.' In San Francisco Board of Park Commissioners, The Development of Golden Gate Park and Particularly The Management and Thinning of Its Forest Tree Plantations (San Francisco: Bacon & Company, 1886), p. 22. 12. Olmsted and Kimball, Frederick Law Olmsted, p. 231. 13. Judith K. Major, To Live in a New World: A. J. Downing and American Landscape Gardening (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1997), pp. 80–84, pp. 136–157. 14. Henry Winthrop Sargent, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Winthrop_Sargent, accessed 14 April 2009. 15. Henry Winthrop Sargent, 'Supplement to the Sixth Edition', In Andrew Jackson Downing, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (New York: A. O. Moore & Co. 1859), pp. 425–573. 16. Joel T. Fry, 'An international catalogue of North American trees and shrubs: the Bartram broadside, 1783', Journal of Garden History, xvi/1, 1996, pp. 6 and 18. 17. Olmsted and Kimball, Frederick Law Olmsted, pp. 330–375. 18. Henry Hope Reed and Sophia Duckworth, Central Park: A History and A Guide (New York: Clarkson N. Potter Inc., 1967), p. 30; C. H. Miller, Report of the Landscape Gardener (Philadelphia: Fairmount Park Commission, 1878), pp. 79–125. 19. Anonymous, 'Fairmount Park' Horticulturalist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste, viii/1, 1858, p. 43. 20. The first call for contribution of plants came from W. L. Akers, 'The centennial world's fair', The Gardener's Monthly, xv/1, 1873, p. 12. Fair commissioners authorized the acceptance of contributions: P. Barry, James Ritchie, Hugh Graham, Marshall P. Wilder, S. B. Parsons, and J. S. Houghton, 'Permanent horticultural garden', The Gardener's Monthly, xvi/3, 1874, p. 96. The announcement of who to contact to make contributions of plants was given in: Anonymous, 'International exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876', The Gardener's Monthly, xvii/5, 1875, p. 160. Documentation of some contributions was provided by C. H. Miller, Report of the Landscape Gardener (Philadelphia: Fairmount Park Commission, 1878) pp. 79–125, and Joseph Trimble Rothrock, Catalogue of Trees and Shrubs Native of and Introduced in the Horticultural Gardens Adjacent to Horticultural Hall, in Fairmount Park (Philadelphia: N. P., 1880). The practice of Philadelphia area gardeners providing displays predates the Centennial Fair, see for example: Anonymous, 'Horticultural department of the sanitary fair', The Gardener's Monthly, vi/7, 8, 1864, pp. 210–214 and 246–247. 21. Clarence Cook, A Description of the New York Central Park (New York: F. J. Huntington, 1869), pp. 72 and 131; Charles Henry Jones, A Digest of the Acts of Assembly and Ordinances of Councils Relating to Fairmount Park (Philadelphia: King & Baird 1872), p. 34; Anonymous, Laws Respecting the Central Park and Other Works Under the Control of the Department of Public Works (New York: New York Printing Company, 1870), pp. 25–37. 22. Anonymous, 'A botanic garden for the City of New York', Garden and Forest i/44, 1888, p. 517; Anonymous, 'A proposed invasion of Central Park', Garden and Forest, ii/56, 1889, p. 133. Placement of the New York Botanical Gardens in Bronx Park, another Pleasure Grounds Park, was also opposed; Charles Sprague Sargent, 'Natural beauty in urban parks, Forest and Garden, x/488, 1897, p. 252. 23. C. H. Miller, Report of the Landscape Gardener (Philadelphia: Fairmount Park Commission, 1878), p. 84. 24. Olmsted and Kimball, Frederick Law Olmsted, pp. 335–342; Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, Marianne Cramer, Judith L. Heintz, Bruce Kelly, Philip N. Winslow, and John Berendt, Rebuilding Central Park A Management and Restoration Plan (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1987), p. 92; A Looker Who Sees, 'Fairmount Park', The Gardener's Monthly, xiv/4, 1872, pp. 104–105; White, Fairmount, Philadelphia's Park, p. 33. The Commission's resolution for Fairmount Park was reported in 1877, after the Centennial Exhibition was over, and stated 'all plantings in the Park should keep in view the scientific culture of the pupils of the University, colleges, and schools, and of the people, by making the Park a great Arboretum, and the flower beds Botanic Gardens', Miller, Report of the Landscape Gardener, p. 84. The manuscript for the resolution has the word Arboretum underlined but not the words Botanic Garden; Eli Kirk Price, Resolution of Instruction by the Committee on Trees, Manuscript, Fairmount Park Commission, 7 December 1876, City of Philadelphia Archives. 25. Samuel Parsons, Landscape Gardening Studies (New York: John Lane Company, 1910), pp. 15–17; Miller, Report of the Landscape Gardener, p. 84. 26. Frederick Law Olmsted, 'Letter to R. P. Hammond Jr.' In San Francisco Board of Park Commissioners, The Development of Golden Gate Park and Particularly The Management and Thinning of Its Forest Tree Plantations (San Francisco: Bacon & Company, 1886), p. 26. 27. Species list references are given by park and year. For Fairmount Park in 1868: John C. Cresson, Chief Engineers Report (Philadelphia: Fairmount Park Commission, 1868), pp. 64–69; William T. Harding, 'Trees and shrubs at Fairmount Park, The Gardener's Monthly, xii/7, 1865, pp. 199–200; Isaac Burk and Thomas Meehan, 'List of Trees in the Park and Time of Blossoming', in Charles S. Keyser, Fairmount Park and the International Exhibition at Philadelphia (Philadelphia Claxton, Remson & Haffelfinger, 1876), pp. 175–185. For Fairmount Park in 1880: Rothrock, Catalogue of Trees and Shrubs; Miller, Report of the Landscape Gardener, pp. 79–125. For Fairmount Park in 1970: Jack McCormick, An Ecological Inventory of the West Park, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: Jack McCormick & Associates, 1971), 485 pp. For Central Park in 1857: Egbert L. Viele, First Annual Report on the Improvement of the Central Park, New York January 19, 1857 (Washington, DC: McGrath Publishing Company, reprinted 1972), pp. 25–35; Charles Rawolle and Ignatz Anton Pilat, Catalogue of Plants Gathered in August and September 1857 in the Terrain of the Central Park (New York: M. W. Siebert, 1857), 34 pp. For Central Park in 1858: Olmsted and Kimball, Frederick Law Olmsted, pp. 335–342. For Central Park in 1863: Anonymous, 'Catalogue of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants of the Central Park, December 31, 1863 with the months of flowering and fruiting of such as have conspicuous blossoms or fruits', in (no ed.) Seventh Annual Report of the Board of Commissioners of Central Park (New York: Wm. C. Bryant & Co, 1864), pp. 91–123. For Central Park in 1873: Robert Demcker, Central Park Plant List and Map Index of 1873 (New York: Central Park Community Fund, reprinted 1979), 47 pp. For Central Park in 1903: Howard Elmore Parkhurst, Trees, Shrubs, and Vines of the Northeastern USA, Their Characteristic Landscape Features Fully Described for Identification by the Nonbotanical Reader; Together with an Account of the Principal Foreign Hardy Trees, Shrubs, and Vines Cultivated in Our Country, and Found in Central Park, New York City (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903), 451 pp. Louis Harman Peet, Trees and Shrubs of Central Park (New York: Manhattan Press, 1903), 363 pp. For Central park in 1970: Mildred Millar Graff, Tree Trails in Central Park (New York: Greensward Foundation, Inc., 1970), 189 pp. Henry Hope Reed and Sophia Duckworth, Central Park a History and a Guide (New York: Clarkson N. Potter Inc., 1967), 163 pp. Alma C. Guillet, Make Friends of Trees and Shrubs (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1962), 285 pp. Two more recent studies exist but were not used because the research did not focus on the horticultural species in the parks: Richard Horwitz, Anne Rhodes, and A. Ernest Schuyler, Species List (Philadelphia: Fairmont Park Commission, 2004); and Robert DeCandido, Neil Calvanese, Regina V. Alvarez, Matthew I. Brown, and Tina M. Nelson, 'The naturally occurring historical and extant flora of Central Park, New York City, New York 1857–2007, Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, cxxxiv/4, 2008, pp. 200–220. 28. Rothrock, Catalogue of Trees and Shrubs, p. 3: 'The alphabetical arrangement of orders, genera, and species is a sin against botanical law, but appears to be demanded by the needs of the Park'. 29. Liberty Hyde Bailey, Ethel Zoe Bailey, and Staff of Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium, Hortus Third (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1976), 1290 pp. Alfred Rehder, Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs Hardy in North America, Exclusive of the Subtropical and Warmer Temperate Regions (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1940), 996 pp. In addition to nomenclature, designation of tree or shrub growth form and native or alien status follow Hortus Third and the Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs but invasive status is from Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council, 'Plant list', from http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/list/midatlantic.htm, the list was last updated on 24 January 2005. 30. Factors such as sensitivity to climate and air pollution are not analyzed because a study of the changes in Central Park trees showed these factors did not affect species changes — Robert Eli Loeb, 'Long-term arboreal change in a landscaped forest, Central Park, New York', Journal of Arboriculture, xix/4, 1993, pp. 238–249. The present study vastly expands upon the 1993 research by adding tree species for Central Park as well as all of the shrubs for Central Park and the shrubs and trees for Fairmount Park. Comparison of species among time periods has possible limitations such as incomplete listings caused by surveyor oversight or differences in methods used by each field worker — Robert Eli Loeb, 'Measurement of vegetation changes through time by resampling', Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, cxvii/2, 1990, pp. 173–175. 31. Evelyn C. Pielou, The Interpretation of Ecological Data: A Primer on Classification and Ordination (New York: Wiley, 1984), p. 57. 32. McCormick, An Ecological Inventory of the West Park, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 485 pp. 33. Eric W. Sanderson and Marianne Brown, 'Mannahatta: an ecological first look at the Manhattan landscape prior to Henry Hudson', Northeastern Naturalist, xiv/4, 2007, pp. 545–570; Fairmount Park Commission, Fairmount (East/West) Park Master Plan, Volume 4 of the Fairmount Park System Natural Lands Restoration Master Plan (Philadelphia: Fairmount Park Commission, 2004), p. 315. 34. Viele, First Annual Report, pp. 25–35. 35. John C. Cresson, Report of the Chief Engineer, Manuscript, Fairmount Park Commission, Philadelphia, 4 December 1868, Philadelphia City Archives. 36. Olmsted and Kimball, Frederick Law Olmsted, p. 333. 37. Sidney and Adams, Description of Plan for the Improvement of Fairmount Park, pp. 23–24. 38. Anonymous 'Thunder storm and tornado', New York Observer and Chronicle, xxxi/131, 1865, p. 20. 39. Olmsted and Kimball, Frederick Law Olmsted, p. 285. 40. Olmsted and Kimball, Frederick Law Olmsted, pp. 534–535. 41. Miller, Report of the Landscape Gardener, pp. 79–125. 42. The forty species desired by Rothrock are (* after the species name indicates the species was in a Central Park list): Alnus maritima, Amorpha canescens*, A. herbacea, Calluna vulgaris*, Clethra acuminata*, Cornus asperfolia, C. rugosa, Cotoneaster integerrimus*, C. microphyllus*, Ilex laevigata, Juniperus conferta, J. flaccida*, Leucothoe recurva*, Lindera melissaefolia, Lonicera caprifolium, L. involucrata, Lyonia ligustrina*, Mahonia repens, Philadelphus hirsutus, Pinus aristata, Planera aquatica*, Prunus alleghaniensis, P. augustifolia*, P. maritima*, Quercus undulate, Q. virginiana, Q. × leana, Rhododendron arborescens*, R. canadense*, Rosa blanda*, R. hemisphaerica, Rubus parviflorus*, Salix cordata, S. discolor, S. lucida*, Styrax grandifolius*, Tamarix gallica*, Ulmus glabra*, U. thomasii*, and Zanthoxylum clava-herculis. 43. Rogers, Rebuilding Central Park, p. 92. 44. Olmsted and Kimball, Frederick Law Olmsted, p. 230. 45. Olmsted and Kimball, Frederick Law Olmsted, p. 202. 46. Rogers, Rebuilding Central Park, p. 92. 47. Eugene Kinkead, Central Park 1857–1995: The Birth, Decline, and Renewal of a National Treasure (New York: W. W. Norton & Company 1990), p. 61. 48. Olmsted and Kimball, Frederick Law Olmsted, pp. 264 267. 49. Anonymous, Fifteenth Annual Report of the Board of Commissioners of Central Park (New York: Wm.C. Bryant & Co, 1872), pp. 19–25 and 202–203. 50. Mabel Parsons (ed.), Memories of Samuel Parsons (New York: Putnam's Sons, 1926), 150 pp. 51. Anonymous, 'Renewing Central Park', New York Times, 10 October 1886, p. 4. 52. Charles Sprague Sargent, 'Central Park, New York', Garden and Forest, i/10, 1888, p. 120. 53. Charles Sprague Sargent, 'Historic Trees and Shrubs for Central Park', Garden and Forest, i/12, 1888, p. 144. 54. Anonymous, 'After the Great Snow Storm', Garden and Forest, i/5, 1888, p. 52. 55. Frederick Law Olmsted, The Spoils of the Park (Detroit: n. p., 1882), pp. 26–28. Frederick Law Olmsted and Jonathan Baxter Harrison, Observations on the Treatment of Public Plantations, More Especially Relating to the Use of the Axe (Boston: T. R. Marvin & Sons 1889). 56. Olmsted and Kimball, Frederick Law Olmsted, p. 167. This work led to the book: Bernhard Eduard Fernow, The Care of Trees in Lawn, Street and Park: With a List of Trees and Shrubs for Decorative Use (New York: H. Holt & Company, 1910), 392 pp. 57. Samuel Parsons, Landscape Gardening Studies (New York: John Lane Company, 1910), pp. 15–17. 58. Kinkead, Central Park, p. 93. 59. Rogers, Rebuilding Central Park, p. 58. 60. C. L. Pack, 'Central Park trees starving to death', American Forests, xxv, 1919, pp. 1391–1400. 61. Hermann W. Merkel, Report on Survey of Central Park with Recommendations (New York: New York City Department of Parks, 1927), p. 12. 62. Merkel, Report on Survey of Central Park, p. 12. 63. Rogers, Rebuilding Central Park, p. 56. 64. Anonymous, 'Central Park trees', Landscape and Cemetery and Landscape Gardening, xxxvii/8, 1927, p. 4. 65. J. A. Dawson, Report on Tropical Storm September 21, 1938 (New York: New York City Department of Parks, 1938), pp. 4. 66. Kinkead, Central Park, pp. 103–116. 67. Kinkead, Central Park, pp. 103–116. 68. Peet, Trees and Shrubs of Central Park, 363 pp. Graff, Tree Trails in Central Park, 189 pp. 69. M. C. Robbins, 'Fairmount Park, Philadelphia', Garden and Forest, v/229, 1884, pp. 326–328; Oglesby Paul, Report on the Trees of Fairmount Park: A Study of the Trees Growing Naturally in the Park Forests and of Those Planted for Shade or Decorative Purpose (Philadelphia: Fairmount Park Commission, 1908), 47 pp. 70. Alan Corson, 'Report of Landscape Gardener for the Year of 1936', in (no ed.) Fairmount Park Annual Report of the Chief Engineer for the Year 1936 (Philadelphia: Fairmount Park Commission, 1937), pp. 49–50. 71. Jesse T. Vodges, 'Report of Chief Engineer and Superintendent of Planting' in (no ed.) Sixth Annual Report of the Commissioners of Fairmount Park (Philadelphia: Fairmount Park Commission, 1890), pp. 82–91. 72. Anonymous, Fairmount Park Annual Report of the Chief Engineer for Year 1913 (Philadelphia: Fairmount Park Commission, 1914), p. 9. 73. Corson, Report of Landscape Gardener for the Year of 1936, p. 40. 74. Charles Sprague Sargent, 'Horticultural fashions', Garden and Forest, i/5, 1888, pp. 49–50. 75. Charles Sprague Sargent, 'Hardy shrubs', Garden and Forest, i/5, 1888, p. 50. 76. Samuel Parsons Jr., 'Central Park neglected', New York Times, 7 September 1879, p. 7. 77. Sargent, 'Horticultural fashions', p. 49. 78. Charles Sprague Sargent, Untitled, Garden and Forest, ii/58, 1889, p. 158. 79. Lily Koppel, 'A newfangled way to count the trees in the park', New York Times, 6 April 2008, New York Region, p. 1; Fairmount Park Commission, Fairmount (East/West) Park Master Plan, Volume 4 of the Fairmount Park System Natural Lands Restoration Master Plan (Philadelphia: n. p., 2004), p. 317. 80. Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council, 'Plant list'. 81. Henry Teuscher, 'Hardiness in plants' Journal of the New York Botanical Gardens, xxxv/6, 1934, pp. 121–131 and 152–167. 82. F. Attorre, F. Francesconi, L. Pepponi, R. Provantini, and F. Bruno, 'Spatio-temporal analyses of parks and gardens of Rome', Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, xxiii/3, 2003, pp. 302–304. 83. M. Cramer, J. Heintz, and B. Kelly, Vegetation in Central Park (New York: Central Park Conservancy, 1984), pp. 1–505; New York City Department of Parks, Topographic map of Central Park, Borough of Manhattan (Flushing Meadows, NY: New York City Department of Parks, 1934), 30 pp. 2008 data was reported by Lily Koppel, 'A newfangled way to count the trees in the park', New York Times, 6 April 2008, New York Region, p. 1. 84. Paul, Report on the Trees of Fairmount Park, p. 22. 85. Fernow, The Care of Trees in Lawn, Street and Park, p. 77. 86. Parsons, Landscape Gardening Studies, p. 17.